Could Deon Bush start at safety for Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears are heading into 2020 training camp with an open competition at safety

When the Chicago Bears signed Tashaun Gipson after the 2020 NFL draft, many assumed that the Bears just locked in their starting safety for the 2020 season. After losing Haha Clinton-Dix the team did little to replace him, and considering Tashaun Gipson is a veteran NFL starter, the move made a lot of sense.

However, prior to training camp, Chuck Pagano was sure to acknowledge that the job will certainly not be handed to Gipson. In fact, until Gipson earns it, he will be splitting reps in a good old fashioned training camp competition.

The Bears do not have snaps to waste this offseason considering there is no preseason. Beyond that, Gipson is by far the least familiar with Eddie Jackson. It is one thing to bring in Haha Clinton-Dix for one year because he had a personal relationship with Jackson. Gipson is an unfamiliar territory.

Considering the Chicago Bears absolutely need these snaps, to say that they are splitting them between Gipson and Deon Bush very telling. They would be completely fine if Bush won that job, and want to give him as many fair chances as possible.

Does Deon Bush have a chance?

This is surprising considering all of the starter experience Gipson has compared to the few games in which Bush has seen the field. However, on the other end, Bush is 26 years old going on 27. He is entering year five. Physically and mentally in the NFL, he is hitting his peak right now. If the Bears saw something, and think that Bush has matured to get the shot, he deserves it.

Gipson is 30 years old, an age marker that signals the decline for most NFL players. Beyond that, he is coming off of a 2019 season where injuries sidelined him during the middle of the year, and he had some of his worst play in years.

There is a reason to believe that while Gipson has been better than Bush for four years, that the two are passing each on their career paths. As Gipson declines, Bush grows.

The Bears could give Bush a practice or two of true competition, realize he is not on the same level as Gipson, and move on. However, they clearly want to see what they have in Bush, or they would not have given him this shot at all.

Deon Bush will get enough chances to prove that he belongs on the field over Tashaun Gipson. We will soon learn if Bush has deserved this, or if the Bears were just hoping, and potentially delaying chemistry between Gipson and Jackson.